Name of doctor who missed 15kg cyst suppressed

A woman says she is sickened that a GP who overlooked her
cancerous abdominal 14.7kg cyst has been granted anonymity.

A High Court decision released yesterday overturned an order
from the Human Rights Review Tribunal and granted the doctor
permanent name suppression.

The tribunal had ruled that the doctor's desire for anonymity
did not outweigh the public's right to decide for themselves
whether they wanted him to treat them. The GP was found
guilty of professional misconduct by the Health Practitioners
Disciplinary Tribunal in 2006. He was censured and fined
$22,500 but his name was suppressed to protect his practice
and family.

The doctor failed to diagnose the patient's abdominal cyst
when she visited him on several occasions during 2002 and
2003, saying she was overweight and prescribed weight-loss
pills.

The woman, a 44-year-old mother of three, was eventually was
taken to Christchurch Hospital in severe pain where the cyst
was removed.

The woman told The Press yesterday the cyst was cancerous and
she needed an operation to remove her womb, ovaries and
fallopian tubes.

"I've lost my insides, but he's still practising," she said.

She felt ill that the doctor continued to treat patients who
were unaware of the misconduct finding. The patient called
for a radical change from the health system so the names of
medical professionals found guilty of professional misconduct
were made public.